1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of drainage systems and more particularly to a deck drain apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many instances it is desirable to prevent excess water from pooling or standing in certain areas. For example, virtually all residential and commercial buildings utilize some form of gutter to collect water from roof structures and to transport that water to some other location. For structures having flat roofs, it is often satisfactory to merely transport the water off of the roof itself. For other structures, additional drainage must be provided at the ground level to transport the collected water away from the building foundations.
Drainage systems can be used in above ground applications, to include guttering, agricultural ditch systems, and free-standing drains. Drainage apparatus is also employed below the surface in the form of culverts and deck drains for bridges, roadways, railways, walkways, and other transportation surfaces along which water is to be precluded from pooling.
A xe2x80x9cdeckxe2x80x9d is the base of a transportation surface that most often provides the structural integrity needed for a structure. In the case of a railway bridge structure, the bridge deck is typically a flat concrete surface. Walls are placed on the outside of the deck to form a cavity into which a ballast material is backfilled. The railroad track itself floats on top of the ballast material, thus providing for expansion and contraction under weather extremes and also providing a means for insulating the rigid deck surface against the severe mechanical vibrations caused by passing trains.
To keep water from pooling on the surface of a deck, builders locate perforated deck drains along the low edges of a deck surface-much like gutters are placed on the eves of a roof-that provide a means for collecting the water and for transporting it to a downspout or dumping area. The primary difference between gutters and deck drains is that deck drains are most often located beneath a ballast material. Thus, deck drains have perforated top portions that allow water to enter the drainage channel while ballast material is kept outside the drainage channel.
Consequently, deck drains must be strong enough to withstand the compressive forces of ballast. In addition, since they are frequently located below the surface, they must be treated to resist corrosion.
A number of different drain systems have been developed over the years that satisfy the two above-noted criteria, however, these drain systems provide other special-purpose capabilities as well. For example, Grimsley (U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,506) teaches an improved railway deck drainage system that is electrically non-conductive. To achieve this desirable property, costly synthetic resin material is recommended for fabrication. Alternatively, Fouss (U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,924) discloses a technique for fabricating a drain that can be folded for shipment. Yet, to provide for a foldable upper part that will not compress under the weight of normal ballast, Fouss teaches the use of a corrugated plastic material having a complex and non-uniform cross-section. Thus, even though these special-purpose characteristics may be desirable under certain applications, the fabrication of deck drain sections that exhibit such features requires the use of complex materials, or tooling, or fabrication processes, thus significantly increasing the overall cost of providing drainage. One skilled in the art will appreciate that more often than not builders encounter drainage applications requiring an inexpensive drain that is obtainable, durable, and which will withstand the compressive forces of backfilled ballast.
Therefore, what is needed is a deck drain apparatus that can be inexpensively produced.
In addition, what is needed are deck drain sections that can be made from readily available material such as standard highway W-beam guardrail.
Furthermore, what is needed is a technique for providing deck drains that allows builders to modify readily available highway-guardrail material in lieu of more costly materials to form a perforated upper drain surface.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a deck drain apparatus. The deck drain includes a pan section and a guardrail. The pan section has an essentially flat bottom for conducting water. The guardrail is laid on its side and coupled to the pan section to form a top cover for the pan section. The guardrail has perforations to allow water to flow to said pan section.
The deck drain apparatus has a plurality of drain sections, placed end-to-end. Each of the plurality of drain sections include a pan section and an inverted W-beam section. The pan section provides a conducting surface for water. The inverted W-beam section is placed on top of the pan section to form a conduit for the water. The inverted W-beam section has perforations to allow the water to enter the conduit.
In another aspect, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a deck drain apparatus. The deck drain apparatus includes plurality of drain sections that are abuttively intercoupled to form a conduit. Each of the drain sections has a pan section and an inverted W-beam section. The pan section has a longitudinally elongated and flat conducting surface, a first perforated side, and a second perforated side. The perforated sides project upwardly along opposite lateral edges of the conducting surface. The inverted W-beam section has a first perforated wall, a first upper surface, a lower surface, a second upper surface, and a second perforated wall. The perforated walls are longitudinally elongated and formed along opposite lateral edges of the inverted W-beam section. The first upper surface is formed between first perforated wall and lower surface. The second upper surface is formed between the lower surface and the second perforated wall. The inverted W-beam section is inserted into the pan section, creating friction bonds between the first perforated side and the first perforated wall, and between the second perforated side and the second perforated wall.
In a further aspect, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a deck drain section. The deck drain section has a drain pan section and an upper section. The drain pan section has a longitudinally elongated and flat conducting surface, a first side, and a second side. The sides project upwardly along opposite lateral ends of the conducting surface. The upper section is fabricated from AASHTO M180 W-beam highway guardrail, and has alternating tabs and notches along opposite lateral edges of the upper section. The upper section is coupled to the drain pan section by friction bonds between the first side and a first one of the opposite lateral edges, and between the second side and a second one of the opposite lateral edges.
In yet another aspect, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a deck drainage system. The deck drainage system has deck drain sections laid end-to-end to form a conduit along a deck. Each of the deck drain sections has a drain pan part and an upper part. The drain pan part is longitudinally elongated, and has a flat bottom and two perforated sides. The two perforated sides project normal to the flat bottom along opposite lateral edges of the flat bottom. The upper part is fabricated from AASHTO M180 W-beam highway guardrail, and has alternating tabs and notches formed along opposite lateral ends of the upper part. The upper part is inserted into the drain pan part to form press-fit bonds between first tabs along a first one of the opposite lateral ends and a first one of the two perforated sides, and between second tabs along a second one of the opposite lateral ends and a second one of the two perforated sides.